Each year collision repair centers restore thousands of damaged automobiles and other vehicles. One challenge for a repair center when restoring a vehicle is obtaining appropriate replacement labels for the damaged parts that need to be repaired or replaced. Example replacement labels include emissions labels, belt routing labels, warning labels, information labels, and, potentially, anti-theft labels affixed to the damaged parts by the original vehicle manufacturer.
Unfortunately, the labels are typically located in areas that are often damaged in an accident. For example, when manufactured, an automotive vehicle often includes labels at particular locations under the hood, on the radiator core supports, inside the door and door jamb, within the engine compartment, inside the fuel filler door, inside the trunk area and within the vehicle interior.
One reason the labels are often difficult to obtain is that the labels are often specific to the particular make, model and features of the damaged vehicle. Further, the labels may include detailed information as the date, time and plant where the vehicle was produced, particular body colors, engine type, vehicle identification number (VIN) and other information. As a result, the repair center is typically forced to order the labels directly from the dealerships and parts networks associated with the manufacturer of the particular vehicle being repaired.
Frequently, the time required to obtain the labels exceeds the customer's or insurance company's expectations. In many cases, the repair center has completed the repair of a vehicle and delivered the vehicle to the customer before the labels arrive from the vehicle manufacturer. As a result, the customer is forced to either return with the vehicle or forego the labels altogether. This may give rise to a number of undesirable results, such as diminished value of the vehicle, safety risks due to the missing labels and inconvenience during maintenance or repair.